Aardvark
Description One of the heaviest Aerospace Fighters in service in the Inner Sphere, the Aardvark is named for a Terran animal with a diet of ants. Ironically, its prey is not ants, but the largest vehicles constructed to date: WarShips and DropShips. It is a massive, twin-engined craft relying heavily on its two-member crew and sophisticated electronics. It is wired for carrying outlawed nuclear weapons, and has done so in several instances during the Jihad. This led to many factions rewiring their Aardvarks in order to not be accused of war crimes, however, OPFOR argues that the wiring is mostly designed to give commanders more authority over delivery of munitions by requiring authorization codes to utilize the compatible hardpoints. Armament In its primary configuration, the Aardvark is armed with an Ultra AC-10 and Medium Pulse Laser in its nose, and a pair of LRM-10 racks under each wing. Another Medium Pulse Laser is fitted alongside each LRM pod, and a final laser defends the fighter's rear arc. Finally, a single Light Gauss Rifle is fitted in the fuselage weapons bay. Variants Alt Config 'Alfa' - Armed for annihilating DropShips and fighters, and significantly damaging WarShips, the Alfa configuration mounts a pair of Ultra AC/20s under its wings. It retains both LRM pods of the Primary configuration. Alt Config 'Bravo' - Designed for a hail of short- to medium-ranged fire, the Aardvark's Bravo configuration mounts a Rotary AC/5 under each wing. The LRM pods are again kept, as are the Medium Pulse Lasers. Alt Config 'Charlie' - A rather unpopular configuration due to its hot-running tendencies, the 'Charlie-Vark' as it is known is about as close to a sniper as a fighter can get. It is fitted with a pair of Particle Projector Cannons in the nose, and four Large Lasers split between the wings. A 20-tube Long Range Missile Launcher with a pathetic two tons of ammunition is slung under the fuselage, and a Medium Pulse Laser is mounted aft for protection. Alt Config 'Delta' - Combining the long range of the 'Charlie' config with the hard-hitting power of the 'Alfa', the Aardvark's 'Delta' configuration mounts a pair of terrifying Thunderbolt 20 launchers slung under its wings. Each boasts a dozen missiles, granting fairly extended combat endurance. Four Medium Pulse Lasers are spread throughout the airframe, with a pair in the nose and another pair in a tail barbette. Finally, a Guardian ECM Suite is mounted in the nose to provide passive defense. Taurian Aardvark - Developed specifically for the Taurian Concordat, a non-signatory of the Ares Conventions, this variant of the fighter strips out OmniFighter capability. Instead, it is 100% wired for carriage of tactical and strategic nuclear weapons. Employed in the nuclear strike role, these aircraft deter Federated Suns aggression along the Concordat's border. It is fitted with twenty hardpoints, all of which have full nuclear weapons wiring. A pair of Medium Pulse Lasers, one in the nose and the other tail-mounted, provide moderate defensive capability, although the fighter must still rely on an escort to deal with other Aerospace fighters. References